


Return to Earth

by conspicuously_empty



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-10-17
Packaged: 2018-03-09 07:49:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3241925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conspicuously_empty/pseuds/conspicuously_empty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is Team Machine in Space. Commander Shaw doesn't like the Mission Specialists on her flight. - According to someone there are not enough Space AUs out there (pun intended).</p><p>WILL BE UPDATED June 2016</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lamachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lamachine/gifts).



“Control? The delay, how long will it be?” Commander Shaw couldn't help but roll her eyes. Their launch had been postponed twice in the last month and was aborted the week before during preparations. Shaw had been in the middle of putting on her gloves when they were given the news. The close-out crew had groaned and undone all the belts and locks. Shaw forced herself to not think about that. She realized she was working her jaw muscles and tried to relax. Her patience was running out. John Reese, her pilot, four mission specialists, and her were buckled into their seats, had been for 3 hours. Their launch window was closing. She loathed being stuck in an idle shuttle. “Houston Flight is no-go. We will hold for 5 more minutes,” came the answer. Shaw heard a chuckle from one of her passengers. The one she disliked the most. Mission Specialist Samantha Groves, Root, as everyone called her, had been the reason for a billion eye rolls since their first meeting. She wished the coms weren't open, she never caught a break from Root.

Shaw sighed audibly. Take-off better be happening soon. Reese turned in his seat, as far as the tight restraints allowed it, and she knew he was giving her a look. She knew what he was thinking without seeing his face. He was as impatient as she was but hid it well. Finally Control gave the “All systems go. We got T minus 10 minutes.” The corner of Shaw's mouth twitched, soon the powerful engines they were strapped to would come to life and bring her to 17,300 mph. Transmissions were hurried now. Instructions and acknowledgments went back and forth between the flight deck and Control.

“Final test of flight control surfaces started.”

“Purge of the main engines concluded.”

“O2 flow initiated.”

“Caution and warning memory cleared?” Shaw cleared the memory and responded, “Affirmative.”

“We got proper flight pressure in tanks.” While control went through the final parts of the launch protocol Shaw compared the information listed to the ones on her monitors. And confirmed when prompted. Reese nodded along with every identical number displayed on their screens. Flight Engineer Ellen Lewis confirmed the data as it was read to her. Finally Finch addressed the entire crew. “T minus 30 seconds. We got auto sequence start,” a small pause and he added “Don't break her, Shaw.” With a full on smirk on her face Shaw leaned back in her seat. The deafening roar of the engines and strong vibrations caused small butterflies in Shaw's stomach. She couldn't help but smirk as the gravitational forces pressed her into her seat. Traveling with 2,933 mph definitely got her heart pumping. As they kept picking up speed her grin widened. One of the MS was breathing heavily, not being used to the exertion. One MS was humming a song. Despite the incredibly loud noises of the engines a very distinct and annoying song could be heard over the com. Shaw wished Root stopped humming “Major Tom”. Two minutes into their intense ride in the roaring,rattling and vibrating shuttle, a jolt went through the shuttle shaking its passengers as the rocket boosters were separated with a loud flash bang, shutting Root up. For now. “Booster separation confirmed.” Reese started to copy data from Control and Lewis, who was called “H”, read them back to them. Shaw liked not having to do that. “Negative return at 6200 mph.” With every mile gained, with every mile between her and earth a weight was lifted off of Shaw. Here she was pressed into her seat by three time gravitational force and she felt great. She would deny if asked, but the time she got to spend in space was the time she was most attuned to her feelings, the few ones she had. At 355,000 feet Shaw rolled the shuttle into heads up position. Shaw blew the connecting nuts and steered clear from the disengaged external tank. Eight minutes after take-off they reached zero G and were officially in space. 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am no scientist, just a geek with a fascination for space programs. I'm trying to stick to the actual space science as closely as possible. Notwithstanding the (at least) two times I have taken liberties to further the plot. Said scenarios are possible but very unlikely. The Lewis twins are based on my best friend and her sibling. Of course their names and occupations have been changed accordingly.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Officers and Doctors, please have a seat.” Harold Finch pointed at the soft and comfortable looking leather seats set around an oak table in one of the spacious NASA conference rooms. Shaw scanned her surroundings. John Reese, who had been her pilot on previous missions gave her a short nod and headed for the coffee maker in the corner. Before he could reach it Finch stopped him. “Mr. Fusco will be here shortly and bring beverages. Please have a seat.” A half formed smile appeared briefly on Finch's face, betraying his nervousness. Shaw knew he didn't enjoy being the center of attention, so briefings like this were tough on him. Shaw waited for the others in the room to settle. It gave her time to observe them. A rather big man let himself fall in the chair nearest to him, leaned back and crossed his arms. Shaw's eyebrows twitched when she noticed his impressive biceps. Reese pulled out a chair and positioned himself so he could watch the door and Finch at the same time. A habit he had picked up in the service. Three more people entered the room. A pair of twins with curly hair, they looked puny in comparison to Reese or the bulky man, and a brown haired woman. She shut the door, gave Shaw an appraising look and sat down. Finch looked up. “Oh great, we are all here. Let's get started.” Apparently he didn't want to wait for coffee and tea.

 

“Welcome to the briefing for STS-136. First let me introduce the team.” Finch stood up as straight as he could. Shaw noticed him wince when he moved. Obviously his back was bothering him today. He pointed at one person after the other introducing them. Starting with “Mr. John Reese, he is our pilot and has successfully flown four previous missions. We stole him away from the Airforce. And if I may add, I'm glad we did.” With a warm welcoming smile Finch moved on to the next person. “Sitting next to Mr. Reese is Doctor Bailey Lewis. Doctor Lewis specializes in psychology. Because our agency, as well as the Europeans, deem it important to check on our long term astronauts on the station, Dr. Lewis will not return with you but remain on the ISS. Which makes room on the shuttle for Mr. Akiyama, who will be returning after four month on the station.” Finch greeted the woman who looked just like the doctor. “Allow me to introduce Ms. Ellen Lewis – before anyone asks, yes she and Dr. Lewis are twins. Ms. Lewis is among other professions a renowned mathematician and will also be 136's flight engineer. Ms. Lewis and Ms. Samantha Groves” Finch pointed at the cocky brunette, “will run software diagnostics and updates on the shuttle, the ISS and Hubble. While Mr. Guillaume De Backer, an astronaut with the ESA and this mission's payload specialist, will run maintenance on Canadarm2- ” Ms. Groves' snickering interrupted Finch. He blinked once in irritation and continued “and Hubble as well.” Finch turned to Shaw. She could tell that he was glad to be half way through the briefing. She gave him a brief smile hoping to convey that he was doing really good. So far. He returned it. “Last but not least. “Commander Sameen Shaw, who likes to be called by her last name, will be leading the mission.”

 

Shaw straightened in her chair, she wanted to get to the important parts. “What's the schedule?” All eyes turned to her and then back to Finch, who pressed his lips together before replying. “We're aiming for launch at the end of June. That's the tentative plan, of course. Ms. Groves-” again Ms. Groves interrupted. “Please call me Root.” Finch's eyes focused on his notes for a moment very likely to remain calm and gather his thoughts. “Ms. Groves and Dr. Lewis have to undergo further training for working in a zero G environment, and the team as a whole needs extensive preparations. Five months should suffice.” Shaw snickered on the inside. Finch rarely used people's nicknames. “Root” probably didn't know that, judging from her face, she didn't like being called by her given name. Finch always stuck to proper etiquette, with Shaw and Reese as well, despite having known them for over four years. The only way people knew if he liked them was if he told them about his injury.

 

The door opened an in came, slightly out of breath, a short man with curly hair. His face displayed a foul mood and he carelessly dropped a cup holder with eight Starbucks cups onto the table. Teabag tags hanging from three of the cups swung back and forth. Foam splashed from a hole in the lid of one of the other cups. Shaw remained unfazed by Fusco's demeanor. The others didn't. Their reactions told Shaw a lot about them. The Belgian seemed to not care. He already scanned the cups for his name. The twins reacted the strongest. The doctor studied Fusco with a tilted head. The second Lewis rushed forward to prevent any potential spill. Finch's patience was spread thin. Reese, unsurprisingly, was highly amused. Groves, well, Root, however wasn't paying Fusco or his antics any attention. She watched Shaw. When their eyes met Root grinned. Shaw rolled her eyes. Time to get back to business, she thought. Shaw's voice sounded almost bored when she asked, “So, Finch, we fly to Hubble, repair it, stop by ISS, drop off the good doc,” she pointed toward the twins who were carefully checking the lids on their teas. “and then fly back with our Japanese colleague?” Finch nodded along with every step she listed while he wiped up Fusco's mess. The man in question had grabbed a cup, and huffed when he fell into one of the seats at the far end of the table. “That's not quite the right order, Ms. Shaw.”

 

Shaw's eyebrows shot up. “You are to stop at the ISS before continuing your journey to Hubble,” he explained. Ms. Lewis spoke up. “Wouldn't it be smarter to do Hubble first and then descent to ISS? We'd need less fuel and would save quite some time.” Finch smiled. “Yes, it would be smarter indeed. Mr. De Backer and I have discussed this at length. As our payload specialist to this mission he voiced his opinion on both options. Making your way from the station to the telescope is a bit more complicated and time consuming than following a direct trajectory. Yet, the cargo you will be transporting to the station would be a hindrance during the work you have to perform on Hubble.” Ms. Lewis frown remained but she nodded in understanding. De Backer began to clarify that they'd be taking food, mail, various supplies and replacement parts for Canadarm2 to the ISS. The latter being too cumbersome to work around when they reeled in the telescope. His voice was a pleasant baritone and he spoke with a thick French and German accent. He had a calm about him. Shaw could see herself liking him. After he was done everybody agreed that it made more sense to stop at the station first. “Mr. Akiyama will assist me with the repairs to Hubble's structure, so it makes sense to have him on board.” He smiled and added “Oh, and people usually call me Bear.”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Finch left in a hurry. Everybody got up from the table and prepared to leave. Ms. Lewis addressed the room, her hands fidgeted with her glasses, unnecessarily pushing them up, “Since we were talking about nicknames - mine is H. Thanks to my evil twin people found out my middle name is Hillary. At some point someone shortened it and I got stuck with H.” The twin in question shook everybody's hand. “Hi, I'm Bailey, but people usually call me Doc.” Fusco clapped his hands startling everyone as he announced, “We should all be heading for lunch.” Turning to Shaw he added, “I hear there's steak.” As the team shuffled out Reese walked next to his commander. “Everybody has a nickname but us. Does that make us unoriginal or boring.” Before Shaw could answer Fusco piped in slapping them on the shoulder, “It means nobody likes you enough to give you a pet name.” Reese and Shaw turned to him. Reese deadpanned “Wow you really hurt our feelings, Fus-co.” In response Fusco groaned, “I walked right into that one, didn't I?” Shaw shook her head and they continued their walk down the halls of the complex. They had fallen behind and Shaw decided to use the opportunity to get some info on the crew.

“So, Fusco, what's the deal with these people? Tell me what you know.” After a non-committal hum Fusco admitted to not knowing anything about the twins or Bear. But he knew plenty to say about Root. “Lady creeps me out. She visited four months ago. Everything was all hush hush. A little over a month ago she comes back permanently. The math twin, too. Something about her is not right.” Reese motioned for him to continue. “Well, she knows things about people. She knew my first name before we were introduced.” Shaw laughed, “We all have accessible profiles. You know that, right?” Fusco shook his head. “This was different, she knew why I am called Lionel.” His face distorted in disgust, “And she runs the employees into the ground. Didn't care much that it was Christmas and people wanted time off. She has a total disregard for human beings.” He looked at Shaw, contemplating, “I guess you guys have a lot in common.” Shaw clenched her jaw but refrained from punching him. Reese smiled “You mean they have the same sunny disposition?” Shaw rolled her eyes. She had enough of this and hurried. Reese and Fusco kept up. They arrived at mess hall. Fusco huffed to one of the counters winded from their brisk walk. Reese followed suit. Shaw took a moment and remained just inside the door.

She didn't feel like spending her lunch with other people, but Shaw figured this was as good a time as any to get to know her team. Of course Shaw generally disliked socializing. Maybe this time she'd get along with her crew. She observed them filling their plates and chatting away. These people might actually turn out to be likable. She pushed her doubts away. She had liked Cole, her flight engineer on previous missions. Now she had a mousy looking mathematician. Admittedly mousy wasn't a nice word. Nondescript. That's not a nice word either. How about odd. She had to admit there was something about odd. Perhaps she would approach them first, get to know them. She had yet to get a read on them and it meant she could avoid Root for now. The way they moved and looked screamed identical twins. Which wasn't possible seeing as the doc- Her musings were interrupted when Finch stepped next to her. “Ms. Shaw. Are you plotting their demise? The way you watch your new crew is disconcerting.” A minute smile played at the corners of his mouth. Tilting her head into their direction, “I'm trying to figure out why the rush job on this mission. Why these people. I'm trying to figure them out.” She then turned her attention to him squinting her eyes. “You could tell me about them.” He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. “Or, Ms Shaw, you could go over there and hone your social skills.” Incredulity in her voice as she mumbled, “Why is everybody commenting on my social skills today?” Finch took a breath to answer, but Shaw was quicker, “Because I don't have any. I know.” Finch sent her an apologetic smile. “I take it we will be read in on more details of this mission. But for now, tell me at least why you didn't use any pronouns when you talked about doctor Lewis. Didn't know which ones the doc preferred?” Finch gasped. “You've noticed?” Shaw snorted, “I may be somewhat inept when it comes to socializing but I am still quite observant.” “Hmm. You are right. I apologize. You are also right about the doc. I didn't dare ask.” Shaw smirked and left him standing there. “So much for preaching about social skills.”

As promised today's special was steak. When everybody had filled their trays they silently agreed to sit together. Shaw took her time so she didn't have to sit next to Root. The woman hadn't spoken to her, but her presence was unnerving enough. Fusco might not have been too far off with his remarks. The crew would be spending a lot of time together as it was, Shaw could put off talking to her for a while. Reese saved a seat between himself and Bear. There was someone she called a friend.

She made quick eye contact with Bear before sitting down. Not wasting time with cutting the beauty in front of her into pieces Shaw impaled her steak with her fork and lifted it to her mouth. Of course that garnered her attention. When she noticed the looks of everyone she got irritated. Why do people judge others over food. She shrugged it off. Across the table identical looks adorned the twins' faces and with that her suspicion was confirmed. The twins had to be identical. Interesting. Her eyes met Root's and her realization must have been visible on her face. She winked and grinned at Shaw. “So, doc, which pronouns do you prefer?” H choked on her food and the doc grinned at Shaw's question. Confused faces stared first at Shaw then at the doc. “Well, they/them are my favorite but I don't mind people using he/ him. Most of the time people don't notice me being trans. And they certainly don't ask as bluntly.” Shaw nodded and went back to focusing on her steak but listened to the lively conversation going on around her.

After the doc answered every question thrown their way and Shaw had finished her second steak, they headed out to the memorial service. The sun shone bright causing Shaw to blink. She had forgotten her shades. And because that wasn't bad enough Root fell into step with her. She remained silent for a while. When they reached the viewing Root mused, “Do you think it is wise to establish a crew on this very day?” Shaw ignored her. With mock concern Root went on, this time closer to Shaw's ear, “Maybe briefing a new crew on a mission on the very same day NASA holds a memorial for Challenger and Columbia is foreshadowing.” Shaw groaned, “Maybe the commander of the mission doesn't care about that.” Shaw got bored at events like this. Speeches were given, speeches that were too long and repetitive. It was almost unfair that she had to attend this ceremony. The worst part was the missing man formation flown over JSC as a tribute to the fallen astronauts. Not because Shaw was insensitive, but because it made her feel queasy.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been ages since the last update and this is super short. But I am finally back to writing.

The shuttle floated seemingly motionless. No one uttered a word. Shaw's passengers marveled at the sensation of weightlessness. Reese and Shaw exchanged slight nods. They remembered their first time. Finch's voice cracked through their earpieces “Doc, H, Root, Bear, congratulations you are now officially flown astronauts.” At the loud cheers and applause Reese's smile grew bigger. He allowed everyone to unbuckle and head to the lower deck, where they would take their pressure suits off and store them away. Shaw sent Reese ahead with the others, she was fine undressing later without Root's leering openly and spouting wise ass comments.

Shaw kept her eyes on their position in relation to the station. She knew the computer systems would initiate the necessary engine bursts to reach phasing orbit, but given the reason for this mission she was determined to be extra cautious. Bear returned first to the flight deck.

“I'm gonna open a channel to ISS, if that's okay, commander.” Shaw nodded, handed him a headset and reached for the com panel. “All these switches and buttons in here.” Bear shook his head, “So glad I only had to memorize the important ones.” Shaw smirked, “I'm confident you would have been just fine trying to remember more than on/off.” She spoke into her headset. “Houston, be advised we'll be chatting with ISS for a while. Over.” Brief static followed before Shaw's favorite operator acknowledged. Shaw switched places with Bear.

She asked over her shoulder, “Let me know when you're done I wanna talk to Morgan before her shift is over.” Reese returned to the flight deck just as Shaw exited. In passing he requested, “Tell Zoe I said hi.” Shaw shrugged, “Tell her yourself.” Reese chuckled, “If you're being like this I'm not gonna help you so you can undress out of sight from your favorite hacker.” Shaw shuddered at the thought, “You got a deal.”

 


End file.
